Public Statements

Cap And Trade Exemptions

Floor Speech

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, in the past, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle railed against the Bush administration for an energy policy they say was written by energy lobbyists and rewarded oil and gas industry companies. Now that they control both the Congress and the White House, that type of behavior which they railed against now seems to be acceptable.

The cap-and-trade legislation being considered in the Energy and Commerce Committee is based on a blueprint of a plan put forward by a coalition of outside groups called USCAP. USCAP claims to favor government regulation of greenhouse gasses; yet, one of the leading members of the group will receive a generous exemption in the legislation to build new coal power plants without the onerous restrictions that will prevent others from building.

The majority are allowing industry members to write legislation that benefits them in exchange for supporting their cap-and-tax plan that will raise energy prices for all Americans. That is hypocritical and it's unethical.